The first question asked after Ramsey Clark’s speech last weekend does
not have an easy answer. Clark, 84, a former Attorney General who served under
Lyndon Johnson, traveled to Nebraska on a humanitarian mission to visit Ed
Poindexter and Mondo We Langa (David Rice) at the Nebraska State Penitentiary.
The men, now 68 and 66 years old, have been incarcerated for forty-two years
for the 1970 bombing death of an Omaha police officer, a crime they insist they
did not commit.

The state’s main witness was a 15-year old youth named Duane Peak who
testified that the pair made a suitcase bomb and instructed him to put it in a
vacant house and call 911 to lure police to the house. Peak was subpoenaed to
submit to voice analysis in 2006. His voice was ruled out as the caller, but
the courts did not grant a new trial based on the voice analysis. Poindexter
and We Langa currently have no appeals pending. Clark spoke to about 75 people
at the Malcolm X Foundation the day after he visited them.

“I think these two men are certainly innocent of the acts for which
they’ve been accused and by our system convicted,” he said.
“But I don’t think that’s the real question. The real
question is what kind of people are we that we would incarcerate two such
valuable citizens for life?”

He praised both men for their intellectual accomplishments and ability to
stay strong under the circumstances. “If you could see them, you would be
inspired. When you see someone who has been in there a long time who still
understands who he is…” He finished his sentence by saying,
“They are our hope.” Clark called the men
“uncrushable.”

To the first questioner who asked how to help, he responded, “Work
with organizations that are already working to free them. There are people all
over the place. Write to the governor, state senators and legislators. Write to
the superintendent of corrections. Tell them, ‘As a Nebraska citizen,
I’m very distressed that they have been in prison so long. It’s
barbaric.’”

The second questioner voiced frustration shared by Ed and Mondo’s
supporters. “It doesn’t matter what evidence comes out that they
are innocent, Nebraska says you’re going to stay there until you die. So,
what can be done about that? ‘Cause there’s been new evidence, but
it doesn’t make any difference.” Clark told him, “The
solution is not in finding new evidence. It doesn’t matter at this stage.
The only decent and just thing to do is to say to your elected officials,
‘It’s been far too long, we want them free now.’”

He cited Norway as a country that does not believe in punitive prison
sentences. “They consider 20 years to be a long sentence,” he
said.

Nebraskans for Justice, a non-profit organization that advocates for the
release of Poindexter and We Langa, arranged for Clark’s visit and the
lecture. They advertised for anyone with information about the bombing to come
forward. No one did, however one man in the audience told of his personal
connection to the explosion that took the life of police officer Larry
Minard.

“I lived across the street from the bombing. I was 15 years old. It
blew out five windows in my house. I smelled the gun powder. I went to the
screen because I could hear the police. I knew the vacant house. William
King’s family had lived there until they moved to the projects. I knew
Duane Peak. I grew up with Duane, he lived on that street, too. I heard the 911
call they said he made. That was not Duane Peak’s voice. I also knew
David Rice. He couldn’t play basketball but he was brilliant. They just
wanted him and Ed off the street.”

Poindexter and We Langa were members of Omaha’s Black Panther Party
until it was disbanded by the national headquarters for inaction. Subsequently,
they formed other organizations including the United Front Against Fascism and
the National Committee to Combat Fascism. Homemade newsletters printed by these
groups used inflammatory language to protest police actions, forming the basis
for suspicion that members of the group were responsible for the bombing when
entered as evidence at their trial.

Others in the audience brought up the role of the FBI’s secret
investigation of political groups during this era, code named COINTELPRO, for
counter intelligence program. Many believe COINTELPRO played a role in the
prosecution of Poindexter and We Langa. Clark stressed, “It was not just
the FBI. Other federal agencies also participated with state and local police.
Police investigation is always important for the public to survey carefully.
It’s where our human rights are protected or violated,” he
said.

After the speech, audience members approached Clark to shake his hand or
have their picture taken with him. He was heard joking with one of them,
“This photo will ruin your reputation.”